The most obvious career path political science students consider is in the government itself, where there are a variety of career options at the federal, state and local levels. At the federal level, some possible “dream” jobs may include White House advisor, civilian consultant to the Department of Defense, researcher for the Congressional Research Service, intelligence specialist for the CIA, legislative assistant,

If you are interested in attending law school, you will want to prepare by acquiring certain knowledge and skills during you undergraduate career. You will want to learn about American government, history, political theory, and ethics; to think critically; to do research; and to communicate effectively the results of your research. To enhance your reading and writing abilities, it is advisable to take courses in both English and American literature and history. You may even want to consider minoring in one or the other. You will also want to consider a variety of extracurricular activities to supplement your academic studies with experience working with or leading groups.

Poly sci grads on average start at $33,000 a year. Generally not enough to pay your student loans. That is why my daughter took a double major of Economics and Poly Sci. And she then turned down over $50K a year to go to grad school for an MS Technology Management. To tell you the truth Poly Sci is one of these majors taken by rich kids just to say they have a degree but only 1 in maybe 8 regular kids with a poly sci degree ever get a job where the degree is used.

My father asked me that question when I was in college. I studied Poli Sci and Philosophy. Think about the foundation of the major. I have learned that I did better studying something I loved as opposed to something that is more “job related”. What are you passionate about if you don’t end up in law school – I ended up in technology and when asked why philosophy – my answer was – it gave me the foundation of thought. I learned to think, see things in multiple ways and give a clear conise argument for what I believe to be the right way – the art of persuasion. So I ask, what can’t you do? You are not locked in to anything specific. The world is yours – explore and recognize what you DON’T want to do. That is half the battle.

You can do anything you find interesting with a political science degree.